Fifteen Years Later
by Meagana
Summary: An Adult Daria, deals with a job similar to her mothers, working on her fifth novel, her mother's failing health, her father trying to win her mother back after years of divorce, a teenage daughter similar to she was, Jane trying to set her up, and two suitors.
1. Chapter 1

Fifteen Years Later

Daria life was perfect 15 years after High School, but it would do. She was a best-selling novelist, under the penname D.J. Morgan, the J being a tribute to her best friend J, who is still a permanent fixture in her life and has helped her raise her daughter Samantha. When they were Freshman, not long after Jane had come to Boston they had gone to a party and Daria had gotten drunk and slept with a Raft Hockey player resulting in Samantha, Jack has never been a large part of Samantha's life, coming and going as he pleases, Helen made sure he paid child support, but he never was good at visiting, and Helen was never supportive of her raising a child, while Jake was. Their marriage which started to split when Helen made partner, Eric was disbarred and was currently doing 5 to 10, and then began to split even more when Grandma Barksdale died, leaving Helen and Amy nothing, and Daria and Quinn nothing. Rita and Erin got everything; Her mother reacted badly to that, along with the partnership, Daria having a child out of wedlock and Quinn surprisingly getting into Pepperhill, and Rifton. Eventually going to Pepperhill in California. Helen began cutting back her support from the girls, and Daria had to work part time to support her daughter, she got a job at a PR firm, by the time, she graduated when Sammy was five, she was a PR editor, and highly respective, as well as a Published author. And Jane her housemate was a respected and noted local artist.

After their divorce, Helen began to drink, and stopped taking care of herself, She still looked damn good, thanks to the plastic surgery, and personal trainer, but her blood pressure went through the roof, while Jake started to throw himself into his work, and at the same time went to therapy, and started working out, eating better, and drinking so much. 15 years later he had a Multi-Million dollar company with 15 employees, and over 100 accounts he owned the building his office was in and rented other office space, and owned a beautiful condo and a boat, he was a member of the country club, he was a picture of health, but he was lonely and he missed Helen. She was the love of his life. Everything he did, he did to get her back.

Daria was in her office, at the PR company when she got a message from her sister Quinn. Who was her father's VP for his West coast office. "Daria, Mom had a heart attack I can't get to Lawndale before you can and Mom and dad are going to be together without a buffer….."

She sighed and booked a flight. Sammy, Jane and Daria entered the hospital room at cedars of Lawndale to find her mother. Her years as a Mom and in PR had changed Daria she didn't speak in a monotone anymore. She also had a beautiful body now, and she dressed much more stylishly, not overly but a little bit.

"Mom?" She asked.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two**

Helen was weak, it had been a day since the heart attack, she was lying there, but still on her blackberry, or trying too, she couldn't do much in her current state. The doctor entered the Cardio fellow, Dr. Peter Matthews. He was a ruggedly handsome, sarcastic, brilliant man and Daria felt attracted to him, but then felt guilty because she was supposed to be there for her mother. They had met briefly the night before. Daria took the phone away phone away from her mother.

"But the Practice…."

"Mom, Please you just had a Heart attack One of the other partners or the Associates can handle the work load, please, delegate…."

"She's right Miss Barksdale, You need rest." We need to run some tests. The tests lasted all day. Her Mom had a lot of damage to her heart, she needed to reduce stress, eat better, cut out alcohol, stop smoking, Daria didn't even know she smoked. She felt guilty for not knowing much about her mother's habits, but her mother needed to slow down and reduce her stress or she was going to kill herself. Her father managed to get himself healthy and build up his business. the next day they talked about post-cardiac care. After we moved out, and the subsequent divorce both my parents bought condos. Though Dad's is much more inviting, and homey imagine that. She talked with her mother, and father and Quinn. Her father volunteered to take care of her mother, but her mother refused that, Quinn was not only responsible for all of her father's West Coast Business, but her husband was a popular actor out there, she had a three year old herself and was currently pregnant. Quinn's husband Danny was a former child actor/teen heartthrob, who made the successful transition to adult actor. He was currently on a sitcom, but also did movies. Sitcoms were the closest to a 9 to 5 job an actor could get in Hollywood and he was a devoted family man, he was one of the few child actors to get out of Hollywood unscathed probably something to do with his non-stage mother. Daria liked her Brother-in-law Danny Hobson was a decent, Kind, caring man and she was glad her sister ended up with him. She makes fun of his teen idol phase though, she can't help it it's her nature.

Daria had, had only a few relationships since Sammy came into her life, and very few survived the meeting of Sammy. She even had a fairly long relationship with Tom Sloan, her High School Boyfriend when Sammy was a baby but he'd been transferred back to Lawndale when he was 24, and there he met Jodie Landon and the two hit it off. And got married. They had kids and he became the stay at home husband while she ran the company for her father in law go figure. Daria was on the Christmas Card List, they had cute kids; right now Daria was searching for a house to call her own that could house her daughter, Jane, her Mother, and herself. She quit her job at the PR firm she never liked it anyway. But agreed to consult for their DC office. In the end they found a house two houses down from the Lanes' house, where Trent now lived alone he'd remodeled the house years ago and when an old one night stand died and left him with a daughter he didn't know about, her new house was built in the post-war boom it was quality, redone five years earlier, two stories, white, and brick, five bedrooms, two car attached garage, finished basement and attic, with 6 books on the best-sellers list, and 6 figure day job, she could more than afford it.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

Daria wasn't sure why she kept the PR firm job after her third book she didn't need it. She certainly made enough from sales that she didn't need to keep working there, but she had her daughter to think about she wanted to create a large enough nest egg to take care of her daughter in case her books stopped being popular at one point, well since her first book had been developed into a dark television series on the Cable, she really shouldn't worry about such things, with had royalties coming out of her ears, then there's the movie deal on her third book that's going into development, and the comic book series she's working on with Jane. So she quit her PR job, gave notice, and bought the house. Trent had become a responsible citizen after a former lover Suzanne had died and left him custody of their daughter Hailey, he and the band stopped being a band and opened Mystic Spiral Records they became with her dad's help a successful and responsible recording studio and record company in the DC Metro area. Well he was responsible the rest of the band was well just there. Jesse was pretty responsible, and Nick had his moments, but Max was of course a problem most of the time. The Harpies had made it and were one of their biggest clients, as were several of their former rivals, and surprisingly Brittany Taylor who once she stopped dating Kevin dropped the dumb Blonde act and turned out to be well only slightly smarter but kind of cool, and had an interesting voice, Blue became a sensation. Right Now Daria was trying to get her new house ready for Helen, it had a downstairs bedroom that would be perfect for Helen. It had its own handicap bathroom, the previous owners had a disabled son who lived in the downstairs room. Daria wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Even if her mother would look at it as insult, Daria didn't care, her mother's health mattered more than her feelings. Her daughter didn't have a bedroom as cool as she did in school, but it was big, and it she gave her a flat screen TV, all the electronic devices she could handle, it had built in shelves, which her daughter would love, a window seat, with a large window, her daughter was more of a dreamer than she blamed Jane, she also blames Jane for the fact that her daughter illustrating her stories. And drawing her own posters for her own room. But she loved Sammy. Most People thought Jane was her lover, they were life-partners, in every way but one she supposed. They shared their lived together, they raised her daughter together, they just weren't gay, it was unconventional but it worked for them. Grandma Ruth who was still alive called her a Lesbian Whore, Quinn was the good granddaughter working for her father marrying a wealthy man having two beautiful children in wedlock. Not that she cared. Grandma Ruth, and Grandma Barksdale were hardly people she cared about. She loved her parents they were there for her, but when their marriage was destroyed, her mother threw herself into her work made partner like she always wanted and it destroyed Helen. While Jake did everything he could do to win Helen back, he got healthy mentally and physically he built his business up since they used to fight about money, he made peace with his family, with his past, he became a better man. He did it all for her. Because for him she was it. They had talked about it after the divorce, _Kiddo_ he said _your mother is the only woman I ever loved and I'm going to get her back. _

Helen was getting out of the hospital and going to Daria's New house it was a nice brick house, it was five bedrooms four upstairs and one downstairs.

"Mom this is your bedroom, I thought you'd more comfortable down here, you have your own bathroom, if you need anything there's an intercom and buzzer to get our attention….."

Helen narrowed her eyes this was a handicap's room and bedroom. "Daria….."

"It came with the house Mom…..besides in two months you'll be up and around and back in your own condo so what should you care."

"I suppose." Helen reluctantly agreed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter four. **

Hailey and Sammy had immediately hit it off, and were off bonding, Daria was meeting with the New Principal of Lawndale High. Eventually Miss Li was caught with her hand in the cookie Jar and currently in a federal facility, along with Miss Bennett and Dr. Manson who were her stooges. Both the coaches from Daria's time were gone and Byes were no longer given, that scandal had broken too, Lawndale was now, an Academic, Art and Music minded students' dream though it still had Very successful Football and Basketball teams though they were actually expected to do their own work. It helped that two years after Kevin failed his senior year the scandal broke and an intrepid reporter managed to get Kevin on tape, and a lot of the other lions on tape, Mack being the exception to the rule.

"Hi Daria…." Andrea Hecuba was behind the desk. She wasn't fully Goth anymore, but she had a few goth touches. She was considerably thinner, and she grown up into a beautiful woman.

"Andrea, I'm surprised to see you here…."

"I have a Masters in Education Daria….nobody is who they were in high school. I'm sure you're not."

"That's true. I need to enroll my daughter as a freshman."

"You have a daughter, old enough to be a freshman."

"I got pregnant in college."

"I'm not one to judge, I married Upchuck."

"You married….."

"He can be really sweet and once he started getting sex regularly he turned into a decent human being. He's has an IT business that's doing very well. Your father manages it. We have a five year old named Charles Rutthiemer the IV and three year daughter named Sawyer, now your daughter."

"Here are her files." Daria hands them to her old sort-of friends.

"Everything seems to be in order. Here are the transfer forms." Daria filled them out. "She can start tomorrow. "Most of the faculty is new, except the Barch-O'Neills, DiMartino, and Miss Defoe. And Mr. and Mrs. Barch-O'Neill are a lot better since they got married they balance each other out, he's not quite as weepy and she's not quite as crazy."

"That's nice to hear."

"Our Economics teacher, is a former executive from when the Bubble broke, she's not quite as pleasant as Bennett but she also knows a lot more about the real world, and she started out as poor, and worked her way up, so being poor again doesn't bother her as others. Her name is Miss Paisley, the new math teacher is possibly insane, she wears costumes in class and sings, but the children are actually learning. The new High School councilor is Stacy Rowe you remember her, she was in your sister's class."

"Yes, she was also a bridesmaid in her wedding."

"It caused a big scandal during her high senior year when Stacy came out, the entire school turned on her. She was kicked out her house."

"I know she lived at our house for awhile."

"It was good catching up with you, Daria your daughter Samantha can start whenever it's convenient I know you have your mother to deal with." Daria left the school, in her rental car. Then drove to a car lot, and bought an SUV, it would be delivered in three days. Then she went to a paper in placed ads for one assistant and one practical nurse. And went to a cleaning service and hired someone on the spot. She also calls a healthy meal delivery service and had them deliver to her house. No one her house liked to cook. It the city it was easy to get meals delivered but here well it was a problem. Then she returned to the house, her Mom was on her tablet. She frowned, but said nothing.


End file.
